VE DAY

[Ant]

• Guys, I left the UK in 2000 ish... VE day was a thing my family discussed as we did have relatives serving then and in WW1/Boer Campaign ets but never celebrated.as in street parties etc..... is this a norm now ? How many years has the UK been celebrating it ?

.. this is an honest question...

 

[Kazzydeyna]

Given the day today is, and what it commemorates, I probably shouldn't have made the posts about The soviet union etc, maybe tomorrow would have been better as we shouldn't be arguing in this of all threads on today of all days.

I'm struck today, as I always am at times like this, of the quiet, refined dignity of our old servicemen, as well as that of their wives and those who fought the war in so many ways on the homefront.

What a generation. What strength, what sheer stubborn refusal to be defeated they showed. Without wanting to get all mawkish and overly sentimental, that generation really are the best of all of us.

We were so lucky to have them

 

[Gaylord du Bois]

There's a nationwide performance of the Last Post at 14:55 followed by a raising of glasses at 15:00.
There's a few gardens filling up now. The road up the top of me has something going on.
I know that the majority of celebrations have been curtailed but it feels like the significance of the day has been somewhat raised.

 

[urban genie]

I merely regard the 1940's era Soviets and Nazi Germany to be cunts of equal measure, and whilst we benefitted by them duking it out for a few years, Soviet Command and the actions of their troops, especially in the final and post war years, were in no way applaudable, imo.
"Hooray for the Soviets!"
"Their soldiers raped women repeatedly, en masse, in every Soviet occupied nation during the end war years..."
"....."

It's no secret that Roosevelt and Churchill both hoped Stalin and Hitler would wipe each other out.

The soviets were a big part of the defeat of the third reich, but they were also lead by a **** in starlin.

And yep many of the red army commited terrible crimes against people while marching to berlin, but so did some of the allied forces on the western front as they marched into germany.


But this thread is about remembering VE day and the scrifices made, a debate on the merits of each allied nation detracts and ruins the mood.


Thank you to all who sacrificed to defend against and defeat the Axis powers

 

[Metal Biker]

The soviets were a big part of the defeat of the third reich, but they were also lead by a **** in starlin.

And yep many of the red army commited terrible crimes against people while marching to berlin, but so did some of the allied forces on the western front as they marched into germany.


But this thread is about remembering VE day and the scrifices made, a debate on the merits of each allied nation detracts and ruins the mood.


Thank you to all who sacrificed to defend against and defeat the Axis powers

Comparing the Allied Assault to the atrocities committed by the Soviet Red Army, and then saying "this is a day about remembering the sacrifices". "Led by a **** in Stalin"; you could make the same argument for Nazi atrocities.

Yeah, okay. I remember the sacrifices of the honourable, and not to turn it into another "we hate America/what about the Soviets" thread. I do not count the actions of the Soviet Red Army 1939-1945, in Finland, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Ukraine and Hungary to be amongst them.

 

[Deleted member 77198]

And on VJ day as a nation we'll forget all about the sacrifices made by so many in the far east

The only time I ever saw my dad cry was on a VJ day
He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said "we're still the forgotten army"

Britain and the Commonwealth’s VJ Day is 15th August (different for America and different again for China); maybe we should celebrate today’s VE anniversary and that of VJ Day on 15th August this year, if things are in any way back to normal by then?

 

[Mazzarelli's Swiss Cheese]

• Guys, I left the UK in 2000 ish... VE day was a thing my family discussed as we did have relatives serving then and in WW1/Boer Campaign ets but never celebrated.as in street parties etc..... is this a norm now ? How many years has the UK been celebrating it ?

.. this is an honest question...

I suppose it's a big thing now because it's probably about our last chance to make a show of thanks / remembrance to that generation. There are not that many left, but they'll probably all have gone by the time the 80/85th anniversaries come round. The street parties ( respecting social distancing) are probably more of a thing because the virus has stopped most of the planned big national events.

 

[Cheesy]

Brave men & women who knowingly volunteered in most cases to give up their lives for our futures.

Their likes are too few nowadays. We owe them all a huge debt of gratitude.

 

[The perfect fumble]

Brave men & women who knowingly volunteered in most cases to give up their lives for our futures.

Nice sentiment, but that's not true, most cases were conscription.

 

[RadcliffeRick]

Have the UK finished paying back the money to the US? Obviously not the time to take cheap shots. Respect to those who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice